Mission

AltMuslimah.com is the only media platform in existence that devotes itself entirely to addressing these key topics for a wide audience, and it does so with nuance and complexity.

The mode of exploration is a combination of analysis and personal stories. The editors at Altmuslimah are firm believers in the power of narratives to help explain social phenomena. By uncovering the stories of a wide cross-section of men and women in the community, Altmuslimah helps bring into sharper focus the gender issues that affect both men and women.

WHY GENDER?

The issue of gender is central to:

(1) The development of intra-community Muslim discourse on gender rights (women’s space in the mosque, relations between the genders, the marriage crisis facing young Muslim American women, etc.).

(2) Enhancing non-Muslims’ understanding of Muslims and Islam, as it is precisely these sorts of issues (women’s rights, burqas, headscarves, honor killings, polygamy, harems, etc.) that capture the imagination of non-Muslims and inspire their distrust of Islam. The tragic story of Asiya Zubair Hasan is one clear example, while European burqa bans raise broader questions of Muslim women, modernity, and religious freedom.

(3) Domestic and international counter-terrorism strategy. Religious narratives of masculinity often lure Muslim youth who fall prey to radicalization. Research has also revealed that these Muslim youth are often estranged from their fathers. It behooves us to study both the role of fatherhood in radicalization and the attendant role of mothers, and women generally, as moderating forces for extremism.

(4) Women as political change-makers. The political uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa have put tremendous media attention on the public role of women in the revolution and their struggle to maintain that presence in post-revolutionary reform efforts.